Blues Happy with Off-Season Choices

The St. Louis Blues had four free agents last summer but could afford to keep only two. They made the right decision when they re-signed Geoff Courtnall and Al MacInnis, letting Brett Hull go to Dallas and Steve Duchesne sign with the Kings.

That’s no slight to Hull, who will get $17.5 million over three years and gives the Stars depth. Or to Duchesne, who has struggled since signing his three-year, $11.25-million contract. Nor is it based only on a 2-0-3 streak and a 4-1-3 surge that tied the Blues with Detroit atop the Central Division.

Within the disciplined defensive system Coach Joel Quenneville uses, Hull wasn’t going to score many more than the 27 goals he had last season. He was a potentially divisive force in the locker room and would have had a lot of leverage had he gotten the no-trade clause he wanted.

Courtnall is a pest who riles opponents into penalties, but he was skillful enough to lead the Blues with 31 goals and was a bargain at $10 million over three years.

Duchesne, although valuable on the power play, was erratic defensively. With MacInnis and Chris Pronger playing 30-plus minutes a game, Duchesne would have been an expensive support player. The Blues, regaining their financial footing after Mike Keenan’s budget busting, couldn’t afford a power-play specialist.

Without Hull and Duchesne, the Blues won’t match the league-leading 256 goals they scored last season. But their losses will be minimized if rookie centers Marty Reasoner and Michal Handzus progress. And they may even gain defensively. That’s a necessity for them to stay afloat until goalies Grant Fuhr and Jamie McLennan return. Fuhr is out because of a groin pull, McLennan an injured hand.

“We’re playing the same way,” Quenneville said. “Maybe we’re not as skilled up front or as deep, but we’re looking for balanced contributions from a lot of people. We’ve still got a lot of guys who, once they get scoring, will sure be more comfortable.”

MacInnis, who signed for $15 million over three years, agrees that the Blues have changed since Hull left. “Maybe we’re a little less funny because he was always entertaining,” said MacInnis, who leads NHL defensemen with seven goals and 12 points.

“I have nothing negative to say about him. He was a good friend, a great player. Whatever he’s taken with him, as far as entertainment in the room, guys are picking up. He’s a good guy and he’s missed. Brett bought into [the Blues’ defensive system] last year. We had a good team effort. We established a good team work ethic and he was part of that.”

The biggest impact of Hull’s departure is psychological. Jim Campbell, who had 23 and 22 goals the last two seasons, has no goals; Craig Conroy has also been blanked and Scott Pellerin has one goal.

“Brett was a guy that took a lot of traffic with him, a guy that other teams keyed on,” MacInnis said. “That opened room for his linemates and on the power play. Now, a couple of guys in here are finding it more difficult to be the go-to guy. It’s easier to be on the second line instead of the first because on the first line, you face the other team’s top defensive line.

“Guys will fight through it. They have to be a lot smarter and get themselves in better scoring position. . . . Gradually, guys like Handzus and Reasoner, who nobody expected to make the team, are learning. If we can remain as competitive and get younger, it’s good for the organization.

“And who knows what could happen? There could be a move here. When you’re losing, everyone wants to trade their canoes for battleships. We can be more patient.”

Sure. As long as their vessel isn’t the Titanic.

CULLEN’S COURAGEOUS COMEBACK

After surviving non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma--a type of cancer--and a bone marrow transplant, John Cullen wasn’t about to let a demotion to the International Hockey League end his hockey career.

The spunky center had no points in four games when Tampa Bay Lightning Coach Jacques Demers told him he didn’t fit into the team’s plans and offered him an assistant coaching job. He instead accepted an assignment to Cleveland, his first minor league detour since 1987.

“I went through hell for a year and a half, I worked so hard and battled so hard to get back to the NHL, I said to myself, ‘This is too early to quit,’ ” he said. “That would be like quitting, and if you know me, you know I’m not a quitter. . . . Another reason is, I told so many people with cancer I was going to come back. I gave hope to people.”

You don’t have to be a hockey fan to rejoice over Cullen’s two-goal, seven-point performance for Cleveland on Saturday, eight days short of a year after he was released from the hospital.

“My first workout was walking around a block, and I was having a hard time doing that,” said Cullen, who lost about 35 pounds during his ordeal and had to be revived once when his heart stopped.

Cullen credits Mario Lemieux and golfer Paul Azinger for lifting his spirits. He has also been heartened by opponents’ reactions.

“I’m the type of player who does things other people don’t like, but everybody’s so busy congratulating me,” he said. “I’m ready to take a guy’s head off and they’re saying, ‘Hey, good job coming back.’ ”

DOLLARS, BUT NO SENSE

Don’t believe rumors that the Canucks will trade holdout Pavel Bure to the Islanders for unsigned restricted free agent Ziggy Palffy. The Islanders don’t want to pay Palffy $6.8 million, so why would they take Bure, whose salary will exceed $8 million?

Canuck General Manager Brian Burke is getting lots of calls but no firm offers. Look for him to move by the end of the month, when teams will have a better read on their needs and expendable assets.

“We want as many teams in the sweepstakes as possible,” Burke said. “The best chance for us to get the best deal possible depends on the number of teams involved.”

WINGING IT

The Red Wings are laboring to score goals, but the defending Stanley Cup champions aren’t in panic mode.

“I’ve seen guys on our team that maybe aren’t scoring now, score in big games and pressure situations,” said Brendan Shanahan, who ended a six-game drought Sunday with two goals in Detroit’s 3-2 victory over the Mighty Ducks. “Those guys have earned the right to have time to come out of it.”

Still, it’s odd to see Vyacheslav Kozlov with no goals, Igor Larionov with one and Sergei Fedorov with two goals and a minus-six plus/minus ratio.

“It’s not like we sit here and shrug it off,” said Steve Yzerman, the most valuable player in last season’s playoffs. “You always want to play well. You concentrate on the present, although you know it’s a long season and to dig yourself a hole just makes it more difficult later. We’re experienced enough to know we have to stick together. The way to get out of it is to stick with it, not to fall apart.”

SLAP SHOTS

The Kings will play two games in England next season, according to sources familiar with discussions last week involving the Kings and the NHL. One will be in London, where King principal owner Philip Anschutz owns a team in the Super League and has a stake in a rink, and the other in Manchester. The Kings are expected to open the season in North America before traveling to England. Their opener at the Staples Center is planned for Oct. 23. The NHL is intent on developing fan interest in Europe but isn’t likely to visit Japan again soon.

Wayne Gretzky will be sorry when Maple Leaf Gardens is vacated in February for the new Air Canada Centre. With one visit left, he has 75 points in 29 games at Toronto’s 67-year-old rink.

Improving ice surfaces was a key topic at the general managers’ meeting last week. One option is cutting pregame warmups, which generate body heat. Something must be done, and soon. “Ice conditions generally around the league make it pretty much impossible for games to be [played with] good passing and sharp plays,” Detroit center Yzerman said. “It’s like playing with a lacrosse ball. With the [unpredictable] movement of the puck, you’re just trying to keep it on your stick.”

Tampa Bay’s goals in its 2-2 tie with Chicago last Friday were scored by Vincent Lecavalier, 18, and Kjell Samuelsson, 40. The last such generation gap was probably during Gordie Howe’s years in Hartford.

Referee Paul Stewart, recovered from colon cancer, is scheduled to make his season debut Friday at New Jersey. He got back into shape by working in the American Hockey League. . . . Sheldon Kennedy, whose testimony about Graham James’ sexual abuse put the former junior coach behind bars, is on a 25-game tryout with Manitoba of the International Hockey League.